


Holiday in Russia

by sherlylikeswaffles



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Dimitri and Rose in Russia, F/M, romitri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-02-28 13:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2734076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlylikeswaffles/pseuds/sherlylikeswaffles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This fic is set some time after "The Queen's Wedding". Rose and Dimitri are on holiday in Russia. On their way to Dimitri's family the planned to do some sight-seeing. But it's impossible for Rose to stay out of trouble for too long...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Another ripped dress

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how long this will be and in which ways it might develop...you'll see.  
> It would be kind if you could take the time to leave a comment:)
> 
>  
> 
> The characters and fictional world belong to Richelle Mead.

It felt like the ring on my finger weighted more than the silver stake in my right hand. The four boys and the two girls starred at me in amazement. I put my left hand, the one with the ring down from my face where I had pushed a few bloody hair strains away. Luckily it was not my blood or at least not all of it. But when I tried to take a step forward to examine the mess I've made, pain shot trough my ankle. Damn it.  
"So what is your next great plan?" I asked the guy in front of me. Hopefully he understood English. He said nothing. I repeated my question but this time I left out the sarcasm.  
"Well, we are Strigoi hunting" he replied, his Russian accent was much stronger than Dimitri's.  
"Right, I figured out that much. I have met guys like you before. " I said and look at the dead Strigoi lying in front of me. He had been really fast and skilled, so I guess he had been Strigoi for a couple of years. Still I can't help wondering what his life used to be like before he was turned. The other Strigoi, the one the group around me had actually managed to kill...in team work, was much younger.   
"So you are obviously not here because you were hunting for Strigoi, " one of them said looking at my ripped dress and my bare feet. Well, at least I had gotten rid of my high heels before I had set off to save their stupid asses.  
"No, actually I was planning to have a nice holiday with my fiance but I couldn't just let you and those girls die, so I had to ruin my dress and my evening..."  
" Your fiance, who is he?" I knew that the question that lay underneath was whether he was a Moroi or a Dhampir. Dhampir relationships were still uncommon.  
"Oh, he is..."  
"Rose, there you are!" Dimitri appeared around the corner. "What happened? Are you alright? " He came to a halt in front of me and studied me with an concerned look.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry that I disappeared like that. But when I witnessed how those Strigoi tried to feed of these girls in the alley next to the hotel, I run after them. " I pointed to the two girls, who were leaning against the wall and whose dresses were just as messy as mine.   
Dimitri seemed to understand what had been going on because he suddenly switched to Russian. He shouted at them. I have heard him swear in Russian often enough to get that he was really, really pissed off. The group of Strigoi hunters all looked more scared than they had a few minutes ago facing the Strigoi.   
After a few minutes, I carefully touched Dimitri's arm and said: „It's enough.“  
“Rose, they could have gotten killed. This could have gotten YOU killed.“  
“Yes, but I'm alive. They're alive. It's fine.“  
“No, it is not. I know these groups. They think they are invincible but every so often they get killed just because they are not trained well enough or because they are being reckless.“ Dimitri's old mentor mode was kicking in and I knew this was about more then just the fact that I had been in trouble. I was in trouble all the time. But I, unlike those kids, was a fully trained guardian, who had made her first kills with seventeen. The last time I had been in Russia I had even joined one of those groups but that was just because I had had no other way to find Dimitri.   
Dimitri walked over to examine the Strigoi bodies. I shot him a questioning look: Did he know them? He shook his head. I was relieved. His Strigoi days seemed to be so far away, but then things like these could bring it all back, the memories, the nightmares...   
“You better get rid of the bodies. We don't want human police involved. If they even care...“ Dimitri said to the teenagers around us.   
They nodded, still afraid of Dimitri. Sometimes I forgot how scary he could be.   
„You know, if it weren't for Rose, you would probably all be dead now“ he said.   
“Well, sir“, started the one, who had asked me about Dimitri, “We had it under control...we just didn't expect...“  
“You didn't expect that more than one would come? You didn't expect they would be this fast? You didn't expect they would catch the bait you gave them?“ Dimitri finished his sentence.  
“Yes, well something like this,“ the boy admitted.   
“Well, you better think before you do something like this again“, Dimitri said in his stern mentor voice. He could have said the exact same sentence to me a few years ago.   
“I think they learned their lesson“, I said because I started to feel sorry for them.   
They all nodded in agreement.   
“I don't...”Dimitri began.  
“Come on,” I interrupted him, “let's go back to the hotel. They have had enough for one night.” I reached for his hand but when I tried to take a few steps, my ankle started to hurt again. I winced in pain.   
“Are you hurt?”  
My immediate answer would have been no. But seeing that I couldn't walk without help, I told him: “Yes, my ankle.”  
“Alright, I'll carry you.”  
Dimitri lifted me up and as he walked away, I called back: “That's my finance by the way!”  
Dimitri walked on a few steps and then he asked: “What was that about?”  
“Well, they asked me what I was doing in Russia and I told him I was on holiday with you...and they noticed the ring”, I added with a sigh.   
“What happened to your shoes?” He asked, changing the topic.  
“Urgh,” I said, “Well, I obviously couldn't fight in them, so I took them off. They should be somewhere around the corner, I think.”  
“You know, you could have asked for help. There were other guardians, too.”  
“I know, I know...but it was happening so fast. I went outside to get some fresh air, when I heard the screams.”  
“So you took off your shoes and run off to kill a Strigoi?”  
“Yeah, something like that.”  
“Rose, Rose, you really can't keep away from trouble, can you?”  
“What is life, without a little trouble now and then,” I said smiling, “Ah, there they are.” I pointed to the ground where my sparkling, red high heels stood. Dimitri picked them up, still carrying me and then we were back in our hotel. Luckily no one seemed to care about the blood on my dress or the fact that Dimitri carried me. That was the advantage of a vampire hotel.  
When we were in our room, he sat me down on the bed and began to take care of my wounds. They were mostly minor cuts and then there was my ankle. “Not broken, but sprained probably,” Dmitri observed.   
“I have had worse”, I said with a small smile.   
“Right, still you don't have a Spirit user to heal you. This might hurt for a few days...”  
“That's no big deal. I have you to carry me around or...?”  
“Or what?” Dimitri rised an eyebrow.   
“Or we do something that doesn't require walking”. I smiled as I saw the comprehension in his face.   
“You're right. There lots of things...” His voice trailed of as pulled away the fabric of my ripped dress.


	2. story telling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Rose's can't move because of her injured ankle, Dimitri and she travel to new and old places and talk about the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you if you take the time to leave a comment!

I woke up to the rising sun. There was not better way to wake up than next to Dimitri and knowing that we had all the time in the world to get up or to stay in bed as long as we wanted.  
“Good morning, love,” Dimitri whispered and kissed my forehead. I smiled happily.  
“What are we up today?”  
“That depends on how you feel...how is your ankle?”  
I tried to stand up. When my foot touched the ground, I winced.   
“Still hurts.”  
“Well, then we have to stay here, I suppose?” Dimitri said and pulled me back under the covers. We snuggled closer together and lay there, side by side, staring in each others eyes. I could get lost in Dimitri's warm brown eyes forever. And in that moment I realized that I never ever had this mean time for myself in my life. Certainly, we couldn't stay in this hotel bed forever. But we had six weeks, six weeks just Dimitri and me. Six weeks without being on and off duty, without watching out for Lissa, worrying about what's going on around Court...Six weeks of freedom. It might not seem like much but for me it seemed like forever. My whole life I had been taught “They come first” and I have lived up to this mantra until the very moment I had thrown my life in front of Lissa's. Ever since I had become Lissa's best friend, I had watched out for her and after the accident, I had the bond to always remind me of Lissa. In that way I had never truly been separated from Lissa, even when I was off searching for Dimitri in Russia or on the run when they believed I had killed Queen Tatiana. Lissa has always been present, in my head on way or another. Then for the last few years I had been by her side as her main guardian and best friend, trying to help her adjust to her new life as Queen. And as a queen she had had practically as much holidays as I had, basically none.   
I had never complained that much about it because I got Dimitri and my happy-ever-after after all, but right now, I had to admit, it felt wonderful not to worry.   
“What are you thinking about?” Dimitri asked after a while.   
“Lissa, actually.” Dimitri gave me a puzzled look. Did he really expect me to think of nothing else but him when we were in bed together?  
“I'm not worried about her, no...at least not like it used to be. I was just thinking that those six weeks are going to be the longest time I have every been away from Lissa...I mean truly without her because we no longer have the bond,” I explained to him.   
“So you miss her?” He asked and gently pushed a strain of hair out of my face.  
“I don't know...a little bit maybe, but I enjoy being with you far too much to really miss her.”   
He smiled and kissed me. “Rose, I understand. Lissa is your best friend but she also is your family.”  
I nodded: “I always had Lissa. But what about you? Did you ever have time to be on your own? Time to travel to any place you wanted to see?”  
I remembered that one time we had been in a library together and we had looked at all those travel guides.   
“No, not really. At least not in the way you would imagine it. I always have been a guardian, even when I lived with my family in Russia, I felt like I had to watch out for them. But, Roza, there are many ways you can travel. You don't always need weeks of holidays to travel around.”  
“What do you mean? Of course, I have been to some places in the US...”  
“I don't mean that you can see beauty all around you without traveling, which is true, sure, but what I wanted to say is...books.”  
I looked at him a little startled. “Sure you can look at all the travel guides you want, but still it will never be the same as if you really are there.”  
“Rose,” he laughed, “with books you can be everywhere. You can be in New York, in Europe, in Russia, but you can also be in any time or any place that's imaginable. You can even be in fictional worlds. All you have to do in order to get there is to grab a book and start reading.”  
“I have never seen it that way. Reading. I thought it was just for fun. Is that why you read so many books about the Old West? Because you travel while you read them?”  
In that moment I understood the look on his face when he was reading, he was completely lost in his fictional world.   
“Yes, Rose. That's why I love reading, Books bring me to different places but somehow my favorite fictional place to travel to is the Old West.”  
“Can you read them to me?” I suddenly asked. I surprised myself with this request.   
“What?”  
“Can you read from one of your books to me? I want to understand your fascination with them.”  
“Uhm...okay,” he said and he stood up. It suddenly felt cold in the bed without him and I nearly regretted asking. But just a minute later he climbed back into the bed, a book in his hand.   
“Your books are written in English. Why don't you read them in Russian?” I asked and I was surprised I have never thought to ask him this in the past.   
“That's an other cool thing about books. They help you learn languages. Back in Russia as a teenager, I started reading all those English books to improve my English.”  
“Oh, I never thought about that...that you had to learn English at some point.”  
Dimitri laughed out loud. “What? You thought I was born speaking two languages at once...”  
“Well, something like that...I just sometimes forget that there are things you can't do.”  
He smiled at me. “And how did you explain yourself that I have an Russian accent, Roza?” He whispered in my ear with his accent strong on purpose.   
“Well, I just thought you liked to add a sexy touch to your already damn seductive voice,” I whispered back.  
“Oh, Roza,” he said laughing, “So then shall I read to you in my damn seductive voice with a sexy accent?”  
“Yes, please,” I said and lay my head back on the pillow as he began to read. As his voice filled my head and I imagined the fictional world he was reading about, I remembered how I fell in love with him. I fell in love with his breathtaking full smiles, he so rarely made, but I also fell in love with his deep, warm voice that now was wrapping around me and carrying me away from this hotel bed to some place far away and long ago.


	3. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dimitir has a new dress and surprise for Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it makes sense to you that Moroi would dance ballet. But I figured it would fit. And sorry for the long wait!

The first thing I did in the morning, was testing my ankle. It didn't hurt anymore. Still careful, I took a few steps and tried out a few combat moves. All was well or as well as I ever feel from years and years of daily combat training.   
Behind me I heard Dimitri tossing the bed sheets around. I looked around, he was waking up. I don't think there is anything sexier that the way Dimitri looks right after he woke up. His brown hair was all messy, but his eyes shone like they were ready to face the day. His yawn turned into an huge smile when he saw me.   
“Roza, you can walk again!” He exclaimed delighted.   
I grimaced: “I had had a lot worse.”   
“Well, just right in time. I have planned something special for tonight.”  
“What is it?” I asked curiously.   
“You'll see,” he chuckled at my growling face, I hated surprises.   
A while later we headed out into the city of Moscow. Dimitri turned out not only to be a incredibly skilled combat instructor, he was an equally talented tour guide. He knew all the important facts about the buildings so that he could have easily competed with Sydney in an architecture quiz. It was a beautiful day and I liked doing something normal for a change. I was not being the Queen's guardian but just an ordinary tourist.   
At about four in the afternoon Dimitri suggested that we should return to the hotel and get ready for the surprise. I had annoyed him all day to slip some thing about what the surprise might be, but he simply knew me too well and had successfully evaded all my attacks.   
When I entered our hotel room behind Dimitri, my mouth popped open: On the huge bed lay a black dress. Its shape was similar to the one Dimitri had destroyed in the night we had been under Victor's lust charm. But it was much longer, it would go down to the floor.   
I shot Dimitri a questioning look. “You will want to wear this for today's surprise. I figured you wouldn't have thought about bringing an evening gown.”  
“For what kind of surprise could I possibly need this gigantic dress?” Dimitri just smiled. “Well, I have to dress up myself”, he said, pointing at a tuxedo that hung over a chair. It was classically black and white with a white bow-tie.   
He had been right that I would need some time to get ready for the surprise and even then two hours seemed never to be enough. Finally I had finished my make-up and washed my hair and tried at least ten various hair styles before I decided to just pin back the first couple of strains and let the rest hang down in long, brown curls. The most difficult part had been to get into the dress but when I got a look of myself in the mirror, I saw that the dress was gorgeous. Dimitri really knew me well because not only did it fit me perfectly but it also made the best of my features.   
“Beautiful”, Dimitri whispered as he fixed a necklace around my neck. I looked down at it a bit startled. It was one single, but brilliant diamond on a golden chain. “It's not cursed, I promise,” he said, his hands wandered down to my waist.   
“How do I deserve this?” I asked.   
“I could asked them same.” He kissed me and I wrapped my arms around him. He lifted me up and after a while, when neither of us had any more breath to continue, he set me down again. “Besides I don't want you to feel for one second under dressed where we go.”  
“I really want to know where that is!”   
One taxi trip later I saw it. “The Ballet?” I gasped.   
“Not just any ballet,” he said, “It's the Bolshoi Ballet. The most famous ballet in the world.”  
“But how? How will we get in there?”   
“With tickets, of course!” Dimitri pulled two tickets out of the pocket of his jacket.   
I just starred. Sure, I didn't really know much about ballet but even I understood that you could not just simple go to the Bolshoi Ballet like you go into the cinema. When we were little, Lissa had always dreamed about ballet and dancing, well, while I had always wanted to kick butts.   
“I got ticket because firstly I planned this some time ago and secondly because I know someone who works there.”  
“You know someone. You always know someone.” I said and shook my head disbelievingly, while we exited the taxi and walked up the stairs to the famous theater.   
“How do you think Ballerinas manage to stay so thin?” Dimitri asked.   
“By suffering from anorexia?”  
“Yes, some of them do. But the others are simply naturally built to be thin.”  
“You mean, they are Moroi?” The last word was barely a whisper.   
Dimitri nodded.   
“I know the guardian of one of the dancers and he made it possible for us to be here tonight.”  
I was still contemplating about the fact that the ballerinas were Moroi girls. I actually had never thought about it before but now it seemed so obvious. Being a dancer was the idea sport for Moroi, they were thin and elegant and dancing didn't require any outdoor training.   
“You see, it was wise to dress up,” Dimitri said, examining the crowd around us.  
He was right. The men wore all tuxedos and the ladies wore gown, sparkling and in every color of the rainbow. Since I was the Queen's guardian I was used to events with people in fancy clothes, but usually I was just standing beside, watching them and know I was in the middle of them and some were even starring at me.   
Half an hour later we sat in the audience of the historical theater and the curtain went up. I have never seen anything like this. I forgot all about where I was and why I was here. I even didn't think about the fact that they were Moroi. All I saw was the dancers gracefully flying over the stage. Combat had taught there was a lot you could do with a Dhampir body, but although I have often compared combat and dance, I had to admit that the dancers' costumes were a lot fancier then any training clothes.  
As the curtain went down and everyone was applauding, I said: “That was freaking awesome!” Apparently I said that a bit too loud because some people around me shot me annoyed looks, like I chose the wrong words to describe what I had just seen.   
“But it really was amazing,” I told Dimitri as we left the Bolshoi-Theater, “Thank you for this extraordinary evening!”


	4. Road trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose drives the car. Dimitri gets nervous. And they talk about their families and homes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your lovely comments! I'm sorry it took me so long to add a new chapter but I'm in my final year of school and pretty busy so please don't expect anything great anytime soon.

Dimitri was twitching nervously in the seat beside me. It had taken me about two hours of annoying to make me give the wheel of our rented car. We were on our way to his family. And it was a very long road trip, so naturally it would only make sense that we would drive in shifts. But well, old habbits die hard.  
Now he constantly checked the speed or shouted instructions. It was annoying, but also rather cute.  
“Relax,” I told him for the hundred time, “I know how to drive”.  
“Yes, I know. But you are not really experienced with driving in Russia or even driving at all to be honest.”  
“Well, the last time I made a road trip trough Russia, I was with Sydney and she loves cars more than herself. So no, no experience with road trips across Russia.  
“Yes, I know. But you are not really experienced with driving in Russia or even driving at all to be honest.”  
“Well, the last time I made a road trip trough Russia, I was with Sydney and she loves cars more than herself. So no, no experience with road trips across Russia. And as to driving in general...that is totally your fault. You really never let me drive and at Court I don't need to drive. So please just let me have some fun,” I told him as I took a narrow left turn.  
Dimitri shut up for a while and I took in the landscape while I enjoyed the feeling of control over the car. It was some old SUV. Sydney would have been able to tell me all about it. But I only cared about the fact, that it worked.  
“Are you nervous?” I asked Dimitri after a while.  
“About your driving style?”  
“No,” I replied exasperated, “about seeing your family again.”  
I glanced in his direction. He starred straight ahead onto the road.  
“Yes, actually I am. I mean they mourned my death and believed the worst for me. At least my mother has seen me before and is prepared, but my siblings? I don't know how they will react. It's been so long.”  
I reached out to hold his hand,  
“It will be fine,” I told him, “I know it won't be easy, but life never is. But they will be so happy to know that you are alive.”  
“I guess. It feels good to go home again”.  
“You miss it a lot, right? Home?”  
“Yes, I mean I have been living in the US for quite some time now. But Russia will always be my home. So yes, I miss it. I miss home.”  
“I never really had a home,” I didn't want to sound bitter, but I did, “I mean home wasn't really connected to any place. I guess the US in general. Maybe even St. Vlad's. But can you call a school your home?”  
“Rose, you might not have a place you call home. But home is more than that. It's the people that makes a place special. Makes it a worthy home.”  
“Well, then I'm home whereever you and Lissa are.”  
My phone rang and I was about to answer it, when Dimitri took it out of my hand.  
“What?” I asked, startled.  
“No phoning and driving. I'll answer it for you”. Without waiting for my response, he answered: “Hey, Mr. Mazur. It's Dimitri. Your daughter is currently driving.”  
“My old man?”  
Dimitri nodded. Even though we have been a couple for quite some time now, Dimitri still acted a bit intimidated by Abe. He was always super polite.  
“Yes, we are.” Dimitri told my dad.  
“Of course. Thank you...I'll tell her. Good bye.“  
He switched the phone off and grinned: “Your dad is just checking on you.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes, he wanted to make sure that you know that he knows people everywhere. So in case you get in trouble again, we should call him.”  
“Oh, that's so sweet of him. Wait, did you just say in trouble again?” I asked taken aback.  
“It took him longer than I expected, actually. He found out about the Strigoi in Moscow.”  
“He did. That man always manages to amaze him. But it took him about a week. He is getting lazy, isn't he?”  
“Well, I think, calling your dad wouldn't have been that bad of an idea back then. “  
“Come on, we did fine!”

Dimitri laughed.

"Let's make a stop at the next gas station. I'll drive the rest of the way. If we hurry, we might arrive home before dark."


	5. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dimitri and Rose finally arrive at Olena's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry that it took me literally a year to update this story. And I'm sorry for my mistakes. I really should reread the books before I continue. Initially I had planned seven chapters and I hope finishing this won't take two more years. But I also don't want to make any promises. Please leave a comment.

We drove into the sunset. Actually we drove east but the light of the setting sun was beautiful.  
...was just as I remembered it. Dimitri found his way through the streets with ease but he drove more slowly now, taking in the view of his home town. No one looked surprised to see two dhampires driving in a rental car through their streets but when Dimitri came to a halt in front of Olena's – his- house, I felt watched. 

I looked at Dimitri.  
“Are you ready?” I asked him and reached out to squeeze his hand gently. It was shaking a little.  
He nodded and opened his door. I got out as well and hand in hand we walked to the front door. 

Olena Belikova opened the door. She looked just like I remembered her.

“Димка? Ты дома??” she exclaimed in disbelief and threw her arms around her son.  
I smiled at their reunion and when Dimitri pulled back I swore I saw him wipe a tear away from the corner of his eye. 

Then he looked back to the front door and froze. I followed his gaze. The door frame was crowded with Dimitri's family members. His sisters Karolina, Sonya, and Viktoria and behind them Sonya's daughter and Karolina's children, who watched the scene with curiosity. And a little in the distance, there was Yeva, his grandmother. I still didn't know what to think of her. But my eyes were on Viktoria. I wasn't happy about the way we had parted. 

Karolina was the first to step forward and hug her brother. I heard her whisper something in Russian that sounded like “I missed you” to me and Dimitri nodded, too emotional to form a reply. Then Sonya and Viktoria followed suit and to my surprise they all hugged me too. Even Viktoria and when she let go off me, she whispered into my ear: “I'm so glad you came back.”

It had been years but suddenly it felt like home to me as well. 

“It's your uncle, Dimka,” Karolina told the kids and they looked at Dimitri with big eyes. They didn't seem to really remember him, Sonya's daughter hadn't even been born when I had visited them and Paul and Zoya were just too little when they had last seen their uncle. Dimitri dissolved the awkwardness when he reached out to hug them. 

Yeva still hadn't moved forward and everyone turned to her now. Suddenly she started to take small steps toward her grandson, looking up at him with a look of wonder and satisfaction. Her hand reached out to stroke his cheek. 

“It's you,” I heard Yeva whisper, “It really is you. I knew it.”

Having her lost son returned, Olena told us that it called for a gigantic dinner and she immediately started cooking. I asked if I could help with anything but they told me to rest after the long journey. So I ended up sitting next to Dimitri on the couch in the living room. 

“Hey,” I said as I sat down, “You okay?” His expression was extremely guarded but then he smiled, a real, full smile for me. 

“Yes, Roza, I'm good. It's good to be home,” he looked around, taking in the living room. 

“Rose?” a voice called. I looked up. It was Viktoria. She watched Dimitri and me with an anxious expression and then turned to me. 

“Rose, can I talk to you for a minute, please?”

That was actually the last thing I had expected when coming here. I nodded and stood up. I felt Dimitri's confused glance following me out of the room. 

Viktoria led me to her room. I followed her curiously. 

“Rose,” she began, “I'm so glad you are here. And I'm so sorry how things were between us before you left...that you left because of me.”

“What?” I asked her in confusion.

“I know it was you, Rose. I was stupid, so stupid. I really thought that Ronan loved me but he is just an asshole. But Sonya told me. He's the one who got her pregnant. You saved me from a lot of misery, Rose…Thank you.”

Viktoria looked at me expectantly. But I didn't really know what to say. At that time making sure that Ronan would never be able to hurt her had been my main goal. I hadn't really put much thought to what would happen after Abe had taken care of Ronan. But apparently no one else had gotten Viktoria pregnant or broken her heart. If anything, she appeared to be stronger than the last time I saw her. 

“I'm sorry, too. I should not have left the way I did…,” I told her eventually but she interrupted me: “No, Rose. Please. It's okay. Can we...can we be sisters again?” she asked me cautiously. 

“Of course,” I replied happily and pulled her into a hug. 

We returned back into the living room. Dimitri watched us curiously as we entered. I smiled at him a reassuring smile and sat down next to him again.

“What was that about?” he whispered into my ear. 

“Later,” I whispered back. 

“Dinner is ready!” Olena shouted from the kitchen and we all got up to sit down at the big table. 

Olena had cooked like she expected to host a banquet of at least fifty people. But Dimitri ate for ten and Olena was happy to refill his plate again and again. 

“Rose, what about you?” she asked me for the fifth time. I shook my head. 

“I'm sorry but I'm really full,” I said.

“Well, then at least let me refill your tea cup,” Olena insisted and I hold out my cup. 

“Oh,” she said in surprise and I instinctively looked down. But she hadn't spilled the tea and I couldn't see anything that was behind her reaction.

“That is a really nice ring,” Olena said but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Dimitri like she waited for a silent confirmation. Dimitri smiled, one of those rare, full ones and nodded.  
“Rose said yes. We are going to get married.”


End file.
